Vehicles can have a prime mover, such as an engine, for producing power and a transmission assembly coupled to the prime mover to transmit the power to a driveline or to a final drive assembly. The final drive assembly moves a sprocket or drive hub that drives the vehicle along a surface. Such vehicles, in different configurations, include one or more surface engaging traction members such as wheels or tracks which are driven by the final drive assembly. In many configurations, the output of the transmission, typically a drive shaft, is connected to an input of the final drive assembly.
At some point during vehicle operation it may be desirable or necessary to maintain or service the transmission. To do so, the transmission can be removed from the vehicle. In other situations, it may be necessary to remove the drive assembly from the vehicle. In still other situations, it may be necessary to tow the vehicle from one location to another location for repair or service. In each of these situations, the output of the transmission is often disconnected from the drive assembly to perform the service. Alternatively, the final drive assembly can be completely removed from the vehicle, but removal can be extremely complex and can be extremely time consuming.
In some tracked vehicles, such as military vehicles, an access opening, such as a hatch, can be provided for a technician to access the output of the transmission so that the transmission output, wholly within the enclosed space, can be disconnected from the final drive assembly. While accessibility to the access opening may not require any special tooling, the amount of available space to perform the disconnection and connection of the transmission to the drive assembly is limited. In other instances, the design of the final drive assembly and sprocket for the track is such that there is either limited or no access through the final drive assembly by which to reach the transmission. A hatch may be required on the interior of the vehicle for access. In other situations, the final drive assembly may need to be disconnected from the power train and removed from the vehicle before the transmission can be serviced. Service in these conditions can require a substantial amount of time and effort.
What is needed, therefore, is a means for connecting and/or disconnecting a final drive assembly to or from a transmission output which thereby reduces the amount of time and labor required during maintenance, repair, or towing of a vehicle. Moreover, it is further desirable to provide a connect-disconnect mechanism that provides improved access to powertrain components.